We live in a world where we are too often disconnected or disassociated from one another: politicians from the public they serve, executives from their employees, people from the producers of what they consume, and so on. Furthermore, this world is becoming overly complex and confusing. Mission-critical challenges like politics, the climate emergency, and the leadership crisis create much distorted noise that causes us to miss opportunities to come together.
The challenges of the 21st century can only be tackled in one way: together!
So how could a theory created by US psychologist, Dr. Clare W. Graves, some 60 years ago help create shared understanding, awareness and most importantly, a viable way forward for modern society?
For those unaware of the name, Dr. Graves was a professor of psychology and the creator of the emergent cyclical theory of adult human development. His value-based framework was developed as a means of validating the work of his friend, Abraham Maslow, who went on to develop the well known ‘Hierarchy of Needs’ theory. Sadly, Graves died before his work could be published but some people have gone on to apply his logic to areas such as social change, personal or organisation development. You might have heard of Spiral Dynamics, Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory or Frederick Laloux’s Reinventing Organizations.
Drawing on the original work of Dr. Graves, The Turquoise Brick Road is designed to be a fun, thought-provoking read, making the original work more accessible to a mainstream audience. It provides a stark and significant reminder that we have more in common than separates us.
I was initially inspired to write The Turquoise Brick Road after exploring some of the original work as part of my role as a NED. I was blown away by the contents, amazed that more people weren’t aware of the framework and how transformational it could be. Truth be told, the last thing I ever wanted to do was write a book. It sounds exciting but involves a lot of administrative work. People who know me recognise that I am more of a creative and spontaneous character. I enjoy being a free spirit, not crawling through pages of small print to find out what I can and cannot do, so no attractive book deal for me as a first time author.
Suddenly, plotting, writing, publishing and marketing a wordy fruit of labour turns into a costly, time-consuming and risky venture. After all, I might just be as ignorant and naïve as so many artists with their work.
I generally love co-creating but can also hardly see anything through just by myself. I am such an extrovert that I need to bounce ideas off others. If I ever write another book, it will be as a collective. As you can see from the previous section, many people were involved in the actual process but I wanted to write this one on my own to see it through as soon as possible. Being self-employed means I miss the convenience of a regular pay check and enjoy pushing things through.
I wanted to get this book out there for two main reasons. Firstly, I believe the framework that Clare W. Graves developed during his time at Union College is mission critical for the continuation of our human development. see Graves’s roadmap as instrumental for this. I really fear that we are running out of time and our ignorance is killing our habitat, the very basis of our evolution.
Secondly, this book is meant to be a fun read and to make the original work more accessible. Thanks to Craig, it is also visually appealing. I was introduced to the framework in 2005, bought two books but found them so dense and theoretical that I shelved them. Then in 2008 I had to familiarise myself with the model to work with a particular client. It was so valuable, I was shocked I had never heard of it before. From then on, it helped me make sense of past events, to understand in what ways history keeps repeating itself, and how common trial and error is, in the business world especially.
Clare W. Graves deserves the recognition and continuation of his work. More and more people are building on his initial research though there is a lot of unhealthy tension, which I have personally experienced. It is time to put our differences aside as ‘Gravians’, remind ourselves that we have more in common than separates us, and illuminate a shared way forward.
If we cannot do this, as passionate professionals with such insight, what hope is there for the world?
Dr. Graves died on 3rd January 1986, and I decided that the 35th anniversary of his death would be a fitting date to officially launch the printed version of The Turquoise Brick Road. This book merely aims to introduce all kinds of people to Graves’s fantastic work. It helped me make sense of past events, to understand in what ways history keeps repeating itself, and how common trial and error is, in the business world especially.It still puzzles me how few have heard of it and I am on a personal mission to change this. I strongly believe that this shared insight will help us become more self-aware, develop more understanding and tolerance, consequently gaining greater awareness of what we need to change to save the planet and redeem our species.
Graves’s framework acts like a map, enabling us to understand where we are, to recognise the universal development paths and our individual role in our destiny. Let’s all venture off onto the turquoise brick road. By doing so, we can achieve so much more.
